It is common for users of electronic devices to communicate with other remote users by voice, email, text messaging instant messaging, and the like. While these means of electronic communication may be convenient in various situations, such means are only suited for transferring a limited amount of content between users. For instance, while text messages and email may be used to transmit written dialogue between users, and audio, video, web content, or other files may be transmitted with the text or email messages as attachments, such files are not integrated with the various components of the text or email message in any way.
As a result, electronic device messaging applications have been developed to assist the user in creating digital messages that include, for example, images, audio, or other content. However, the functionality of existing messaging applications is limited. For example, such applications do not enable the user to combine a wide array of digital content segments (e.g., a digital video segment and a digital image) such that portions of two or more content segments, including content segments from different sources, can be presented to the recipient simultaneously as an integrated component of the digital message. Additionally, such applications do not provide the user with the ability to easily edit the digital message during creation. Further, while a variety of different audio and/or video editing software is available, such software is far too cumbersome for use on mobile phones or other like electronic devices. Such video editing software is also complicated and time consuming, and as a result, is not suitable for use in creating digital messages as a means of communication between electronic device users.
For example, in order to enable conversational communication between users, digital messages must be created within a relatively narrow creation window (i.e., relatively quickly). In some situations, a one-minute creation window may be at the high end of the spectrum. However, existing audio and/or video editing software that enables combining media into a single shareable file operates at a “project building” pace, often requiring dozens of steps and falling outside of the narrow creation window that typical conversational communication requires. As a result, electronic device messaging applications have defaulted to only sharing media items as disparate elements “attached to” but not integrated or woven into the digital message.
Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward curing one or more of the deficiencies described above.